LUCKNOW, May 22 -- Several revenue records of land in the urban pockets of Sambhal, which has remained at the centre of a controversy following court-ordered surveys of the Shahi Jama Masjid there, were found to be either missing or tampered with and forged, confirmed senior administrative officials on Tuesday.

They said an FIR had been lodged after a lekhpal found the discrepancies at the land record room in Moradabad. They suspected these manipulations might have been done so that the actual landowners could not be confirmed.

The Sambhal district was carved out of the Moradabad district on July 23, 2012, after a formal announcement was made to this effect on September 28, 2011. The district was formed largely from the Sambhal region o...